The #1 Destination Spa in America Does Things Differently

Gwyneth Paltrow and Hailey Bieber travel to Sedona for this wellness retreat.

It just got named the #1 Destination Spa in the United States.

This is Mii Amo.

And it reveals something important about where wellness hospitality is heading.

The Destination Spa Model

Most hotels treat wellness as an add-on. A spa wing. A menu of treatments guests can book between pool time and dinner reservations.

Mii Amo is built on a completely different premise.

You can’t just book a room. You commit to a Journey – a 3, 4, or 7-night immersive program that includes private casita accommodations, gourmet meals, and daily treatments.

Only 23 rooms. Adults-only. All-inclusive.

This isn’t a hotel with a spa. It’s a wellness sanctuary that happens to have beds.

That distinction matters more than most operators realize.

Why It Works

Mii Amo sits in Boynton Canyon – one of Sedona’s four vortex energy sites believed to emanate concentrated earth energy that fosters healing.

Since 2001, it’s been a pioneer among destination spas. The name “Mii Amo” means “one’s path or journey forward” in the Yuman Native American dialect.

After a two-year closure and $40 million expansion, Mii Amo reopened in 2023. Travel + Leisure just named it the #1 Destination Spa in the United States.

The experience is unlike anything else in hospitality.

Every morning, guests gather in the Crystal Grotto – a circular kiva-like space with a red earthen floor and skylit dome. They set intentions for the day around a giant quartz crystal.

The treatment menu goes way beyond standard spa offerings. Aura photography. Energy clearing sessions. Chakra balancing. Astrology readings. Past-life regression. Sound healing ceremonies.

There’s a moonlight energy clearing treatment done outdoors under Sedona’s stars. Guests name the energies they want to release, receive a massage by moonlight, and go home with a custom essential oil blend.

The architecture blends into the red rocks. Earth-toned adobe walls the exact shade of Sedona’s cliffs. Circular motifs echoing Native American kivas. Floor-to-ceiling windows framing canyon views.

Indigenous wisdom is woven throughout the experience. Medicine wheel walks. Native flute meditation. Guided hikes sharing sacred stories of the five tribes who once inhabited Boynton Canyon.

Mii Amo is lighting the path for what wellness hospitality can truly be.

Because here’s what most hotels get wrong about wellness...

They bolt it on. They add a spa menu to an existing property and call themselves a wellness destination.

But the Modern Traveler can feel the difference between wellness as a feature and wellness as the foundation.

Mii Amo isn’t trying to be Aman or Six Senses or any other luxury wellness brand. It’s singularly rooted in Sedona’s vortex energy and Native American spirituality.

Creating an experience you can’t find anywhere else.

That’s the point.

And that’s why they’re absolutely crushing it.

Key Takeaways

1. Commit to the concept fully.

Mii Amo doesn’t hedge. You can’t book a single night. You can’t skip the wellness programming. The commitment creates the transformation.

2. Let the land lead.

The architecture, the rituals, the treatments – everything flows from Boynton Canyon’s energy. The place isn’t decorated with Sedona. It’s built from Sedona.

3. Create rituals, not just services.

The Crystal Grotto ceremony every morning isn’t a treatment you book. It’s a shared experience that creates community and sets intention. That’s the difference between a spa and a sanctuary.

4. Be irreplaceable, not better.

Mii Amo doesn’t compete on thread count or amenity lists. It competes on being the only place that offers what it offers. That positioning is infinitely more defensible.

The destination spa model isn’t right for every property. But the principle behind it applies everywhere.

When wellness is the foundation – not the add-on – everything changes.